Adult Colouring Books

It's a trend you can't avoid. Non-children have been reaching to the colouring pencils and markers faster than you can say 'New Popular Mindfulness Trend.' And yes, I did just call them 'non-children'. 

I'm not usually one for jumping onto bandwagons. Unless of course the bandwagon will make me more Hipster. I've always wanted to be a Hipster... 

But back in April I was volunteering at the Chester Beatty Library. Anyone who's been there knows they not only tell you the history of the world through the history of books, but they also have pretty little postcards for the children to colour in. Or, in my case, for me to take home and talk about how big of a child I am for enjoying colouring in. 

So, seen as colouring in is actually something I do really enjoy, I'm delighted that it's now become fashionable for grown-up non-children to do it. They have even invented 'Adult Colouring Books' so that you won't feel embarrassed carrying around an A-4, Disney Princess, clearly marked for kids book. And of course, they can charge you so much more for stylish adult colouring books.

Seen as August is my mental health re-enforcement month, I logged onto The Book Depository and ordered myself two very cheap non-children oriented colouring books. Thanks to GlossyBox, I also had a pretty new pencil case for all my colouring needs, as seen to the right. >

Here's what I found:

Thank goodness these were on special offer. I mean, was my mother paying €21 for colouring books for 3 year old me? I don't think so. 

Book 1 is aptly titled 'The Gorgeous Colouring Book for Grown-Ups' so no children will dare pick it up. The cover is very pretty; it really reflects the 'gorgeous' requirement set forth in the title. And the A5 size means I could take it in my handbag if I wasn't still so paranoid of looking childish whipping my pencil case out in public. 

Ah, I'm just being a grumpy old woman. The truth is that I love it. I love the little elastic closure that keeps my page open for me while I'm colouring and/or saves the page for when I come back the next day. I love the patterns. I love that it's so stylish that I wouldn't actually mind too much about taking it with me in my handbag (but colouring in a public place is still a frightening thought!)

After it arrived, I sat with the book for about 4 straight nights colouring with my Crayola pencils and my tongue hanging out the right side of my mouth in concentration. During my dedicated 'colouring-in time' I concentrated solely on what I was doing; planning colour schemes, relaxing, being mindful. It may have been by accident but I was mindful. And I loved it. 

And then Book 2 arrived in the post! 'The Mindfulness Colouring Book' by Emma Farrarons is even smaller, more delicate and even more pretty. The little illustrations (such as the fox one below, which is obviously my favourite) are adorable. However, with such a small book the lines are smaller and my Crayola markers won't quite fit in between a lot of the lines. To make things slightly more difficult, some of the illustrations stretch across the two pages. But it's impossible to reach the corners in the fold of the book without wrenching pages out in the process. The result is a gap of white right down the centre of the folds. It's a bit annoying. The intricate designs take even more time to colour in than the 'Gorgeous Colouring Book' which isn't a bad thing. It's time consuming, but isn't that what mindfulness should be?

Who would have called it a few years ago that colouring was going to make a come back? And I'm not complaining. I love that I can now order very well designed colouring books to my door. Nothing was this much fun to colour in as a child!